U.S. patent number 5,913,422 [Application Number 08/929,238] was granted by the patent office on 1999-06-22 for surgical tool sterilization and storage container system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Poly Vac, Inc.. Invention is credited to Dwayne R. Cote, Timothy E. Wood.
United States Patent |
5,913,422 |
Cote , et al. |
June 22, 1999 |
Surgical tool sterilization and storage container system
Abstract
A sterilization tray container system includes an apertured rack
in which surgical tools are located. A resiliently deformable
retention mat having a plurality of apertures formed in a
predetermined array pattern underlying, at least in part, the array
pattern in the tray, is provided below the rack. The apertures in
the resiliently deformable retention mat extend entirely
therethrough, and are sized and configured so as to releasably grip
the surgical tools intended to be placed therein. The resiliently
deformable retention mat is positioned below the rack, and is
attached to the rack by a mechanical support, or fixedly held in
position between the rack and the container bottom.
Inventors: |
Cote; Dwayne R. (Derry, NH),
Wood; Timothy E. (Weare, NH) |
Assignee: |
Poly Vac, Inc. (Manchester,
NH)
|
Family
ID: |
25457535 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/929,238 |
Filed: |
September 4, 1997 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/370; 206/210;
206/373; 422/292 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B
50/33 (20160201); A61L 2/26 (20130101); A61B
50/20 (20160201) |
Current International
Class: |
A61B
19/00 (20060101); A61B 19/02 (20060101); A61L
2/26 (20060101); B65D 083/10 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/370,439,363,210,373,366,443,306 ;422/292,300,102,29.7,104
;220/366.1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1364546 |
|
Jan 1988 |
|
SU |
|
2198119 |
|
Jun 1988 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Sewell; Paul T.
Assistant Examiner: Lam; Nhan T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hayes, Soloway, Hennessey, Grossman
& Hage, P.C.
Claims
We claim:
1. In a sterilization tray assembly for sterilizing, transporting
and storing surgical instruments, comprising top and bottom mating
enclosures, said mating enclosures each comprising a plurality of
ports for permitting ingress and egress of gaseous sterilant, and a
rack dimensioned to fit within the bottom enclosure, said rack
having a plurality of spaced apertures for receiving a selected
surgical instrument therein, and means for locking said mating
enclosures to one another, the improvement which comprises a
retention pad, formed of a resiliently deformable material, located
in fixed position under said rack, said retention pad having a
plurality of drilled through-holes, sized and configured so as to
releasably grip surgical instruments placed therein.
2. In a tray assembly according to claim 1, the improvement wherein
at least some of the through-holes in the retention pad have
different diameters for accommodating different diameter
instruments.
3. In a tray assembly according to claim 1, the improvement wherein
at least some of the through-holes in the retention pad include a
plurality of inwardly directed ribs for gripping surgical
instruments therein.
4. In a tray assembly according to claim 1, and further including
an indicia key to surgical instruments printed on the rack.
5. In a tray assembly according to claim 1, the improvement wherein
said resiliently deformable retention pad is supported in contact
with the bottom of said rack, by a frame.
6. In a sterilization tray assembly according to claim 1, the
improvement wherein said resiliently deformable retention plate is
sandwiched between the bottom of said rack and the bottom mating
enclosure.
7. In a sterilization tray assembly according to claim 6, the
improvement wherein the resiliently deformable retention plate is
supported above the bottom mating enclosure on bumps or ridges.
8. In a tray assembly according to claim 1, the improvement wherein
the resiliently deformable retention pad has at least one serrated
surface.
9. In a tray assembly according to claim 1, the improvement wherein
the resiliently deformable retention pad is formed of silicon
rubber.
10. In a tray assembly according to claim 1, the improvement
wherein at least some of the drilled through-holes in the retention
pad are aligned at least in part with the spaced apertures in the
rack.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to container systems for tools and,
more particularly, to a surgical container system for the
organization, sterilization, and safe storage of delicate surgical
instruments such as dental implantation tools (e.g. burrs and
insertion wrenches).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many surgical procedures require a specific, specialized group of
surgical tools with any one procedure potentially requiring
anywhere from just a few to literally dozens of individual tools.
The tools must be sterilized and presented at the surgical site in
a manner facilitating quick selection and retrieval of a needed
tool by the medical practitioner during the surgical procedure.
This is especially true in the dental arts, where many dental
instruments are typically used in quick succession during one
procedure. For example, a dental implant procedure normally
requires the sequential use of several dental burrs (i.e. drills)
of increasingly larger diameter, in addition to the intermediate
and/or subsequent use of other implant tools (i.e. implant
component insertion and extraction tools).
Container systems have been developed in the past which organize,
sterilize, store and present a specific group of tools for a dental
or other surgical procedure, all in the same container. In this
regard, it is normally intended that the surgical tool container
system organize a group of tools in a manner allowing the medical
practitioner to retrieve the needed tools directly from the
container during the surgical procedure. Examples of such
containers may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,676 to Brooks.
Unfortunately, these as well as other prior container systems of
their kind have given little attention to at least two very
important considerations of such containers: (1) securing the tools
in the container in a manner substantially preventing the
accidental dislodgment of the tools from their original place
within the container regardless of container orientation; (2) the
ease by which a medical practitioner can quickly identify, select
and then remove the needed tool from a group of tools within the
container during a surgical procedure.
Regarding the first consideration, during normal handling the
container may be inverted from its correct orientation, thus
potentially disturbing the organization of the tools within the
container. Should this occur, valuable time is spent on
re-organizing the tools within the container prior to the surgical
procedure, and hopefully without the need for re-sterilization
should some of the tools fall entirely out of the container. The
container thus preferably includes means to securely retain the
tools in their organized position within the container, regardless
of the orientation of the container.
Regarding the second consideration, the medical practitioner needs
to be able to identify, select and remove the needed tool from the
container quickly and easily, and advantageously with the use of a
single hand.
Since the tools are sterilized in the same container in which they
are stored and used in surgery, the container must be very durable
so as to withstand repeated sterilization cycles and handling.
While the container must be durable and include features to
securely retain the tools in their position within the container,
those features must not conflict with the need for quick
identification and retrieval of a tool from the container. Also,
once the surgical procedure is finished, the tools must be replaced
in their original positions within the container. Thus, it is
furthermore desirable that the features which permit the secure
retention of the tools within the container also permit quick and
easy replacement of those same tools back in their original
positions in the container. These features provide a container
system in which the group of tools may be quickly reorganized for
subsequent sterilization, storage and use cycles.
The foregoing discussion of the prior art was taken largely from
U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,314 to Hurson in which there is disclosed
surgical tool sterilization trays provided with a plurality of
holes formed therethrough and wherein the plurality of elastomeric
grommets are fitted into the holes. According to the '314 patent,
each grommet includes an axially extending bore wherein the shank
of a surgical tool may be inserted and frictionally engaged in a
gently upright orientation with respect to the tray. The grommets
reportedly removably secure the tools in their original positions
within the container regardless of container orientation, yet
permit the quick and easy removal of a tool from the container
during a surgical procedure, as well as equally quick and easy
replacement of the tool within the container for subsequent
sterilization and use cycles. See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,115 to
Latulippe which discloses an alternative grommeted surgical tray
arrangement.
While surgical tray systems such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,525,314 and 5,518,115 meet the above considerations, such
patented trays do have certain disadvantages. For one, assembling
the many grommets into the tray is tedious and time-consuming, thus
adding to production costs. Also, the grommets tend to mask areas
on the base plate or tray, both under the heads of the grommets and
in the walls of the apertures in the trays, thus providing
potential sites for condensation and contamination traps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the aforesaid and other
disadvantages of the prior art, and achieves the above needs, by
providing a sterilization tray container system including an
apertured rack in which surgical tools are located. A resiliently
deformable retention mat having a plurality of apertures formed in
a predetermined array pattern underlying, at least in part, the
array pattern in the tray, is provided below the rack. The
apertures in the resiliently deformable retention mat extend
entirely therethrough, and are sized and configured so as to
releasably grip the surgical tools intended to be placed therein.
The resiliently deformable retention mat is positioned below the
rack, and may be attached to the rack, e.g. by a mechanical
support, or fixedly held in position between the rack and the
container bottom.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be seen
from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals depict like parts,
and wherein
FIG. 1 is a exploded perspective view of a surgical tool
sterilization and container system made in accordance with the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the sterilization and storage
container system of FIG. 1, shown partly broken away;
FIGS. 3A-3C are three views of one of the retention plate frame
member portion in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, and showing an alternative
embodiment of surgical tool sterilization and container system made
in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the sterilization and storage
container system of FIG. 4, shown partly broken away;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the retention plate portion of
an alternative embodiment of the invention; and
FIGS. 8A-8C are three views of another form of retention plate
frame member portion in accordance with another embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1-3, the
sterilization, transporting and storage tray assembly of the
present invention is indicated generally by numeral 10. The tray
assembly 10 consists of a box-like bottom tray 12 having a bottom
14 and four generally perpendicular upwardly projecting continuous
sidewalls comprising a front sidewall 16, a left sidewall 18, a
back sidewall 20 and a right sidewall 22. Tray bottom 14 includes a
plurality of spaced apertures 24 arranged in a predetermined
pattern. Apertures 24 permit ingress and egress of steam or other
gaseous sterilants, and allow for condensation drainage.
An instrument support rack 30 having a generally planar top surface
32 and a downwardly projecting lip 34 which forms the periphery of
rack 30, is inserted in, and rests within base 12. Rack 30 is
mounted within base 12 spaced from the base side walls 16, 18, 20
and 22, for example, by a pair of raised tabs or detents 36 which
cooperate with proximately located apertures 38 in the base side
walls 16 and 18 whereby to form a gap between the periphery of lip
34 and the inside of walls 16, 18, 20 and 22. The gap permits
ingress and egress of steam or other gaseous sterilants and allows
for condensation drainage.
A feature and advantage of the present invention is to provide a
surgical instrument delivery system for pre-defined surgical
procedures in which a selection of tools with a range of sizes and
styles may be prepackaged for use in a logical sequence of
operations. For example, as applied to dental implant surgery, a
typical sequence of steps may comprise first drilling a pilot hole,
for example, in the jaw bone; the pilot hole is then enlarged, and
the hole then threaded using a thread former. Threaded pins are
then mounted in the threaded holes using a driver. As will be
appreciated these various tools comprise different diameters. While
the holes for accommodating the instruments may be custom drilled,
i.e. to accommodate instruments of different diameters, in a
preferred embodiment of this invention, in order to facilitate
manufacture of the rack, a plurality of holes 42, are drilled in
the rack in a predetermined layout, and a resiliently deformable
mat 44 having through-holes 46A, 46B, 46C . . . which may be the
same size, or different size, e.g. to accommodate different sized
instruments, is located under tray 30. Holes 46A, 46B, 46C . . .
should be drilled completely through resilient pad 44 so as to
promote drainage. In other words, holes 46A, 46B, 46C . . . should
not be blind holes. Holes 46A, 46B,46C . . . should correspond to
the layout of holes 42 in rack 30. Mat 44 should be formed of a
resiliently deformable elastomeric material that maintains its
resiliency over repeated temperature cycling, and is approved for
medical sterilization uses, for example, silicon rubber or the
like.
Resilient mat 44 preferably is fixedly held in position, to the
bottom of rack 30, by means of a frame or rail system 80, which
preferably includes a plurality of integral standoffs 82 which may
be ultrasonically welded or chemically or adhesively bonded to the
bottom of rack 30 so as to fixedly position the resilient mat 44.
Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, resilient mat 44 may be
held in position sandwiched between the bottom of rack 30 and the
top of tray base 12. In such case, base 12 preferably will include
a plurality of upwardly directed ridges or bumps 86 for supporting
a mat 44 off the surface of tray base 12, and to assist in
condensation drainage. If desired, resilient mat 44 may be
serrated, i.e. as shown in FIG. 7 so as to minimize the area of
contact between the mat and the bottom of rack 30, rails 84, and
tray base 12, as the case may be.
Referring in particular to FIG. 6, if desired, a plurality of
inwardly extending projections or ribs 48 may be formed on the
inside wall surfaces 49 of the holes 46 in resilient mat 44. As
shown in FIG. 6, ribs 48 are equi-spaced around the periphery of
holes 46. While four ribs 48 are shown in FIG. 6, as few as three
ribs, or five or more ribs may be provided.
Preferably, but not necessarily, indicia 90 may be printed adjacent
the various holes in rack 30, identifying the individual tools;
also, if desired, duplicate tools may be arranged adjacent one
another on the tray.
Top 50 is of a box-like shape and includes a top surface 52 having
a plurality of spaced apertures 54 arranged around the periphery of
the top surface 52 to permit the ingress and egress of steam or
other gaseous sterilants during sterilization, and drainage of
condensation from the top surface 52. Top 50 includes an outwardly
projecting peripheral ridge section 56, and a downwardly projecting
lip section 58 which together engage the top portions of walls 16,
18, 20 and 22 of base 12 when the top 50 is locked upon the base
12. If desired, an instrument key, such as a drill depth guide or
other indicia may be printed on the inside surface of the top cover
50.
Completing the sterilization and storage container tray of the
present invention are C-shaped locking hinges 60 made of a flexible
metal or plastic which are attached to top 50 by hinge pins 62 at
the midpoint position of the opposite ends of top 50.
FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate an alternative design of frame or rail
system 80A and comprising integral standoffs 82A, for supporting a
suitable dimensioned resilient mat.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been
illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit the
invention, and changes and modifications may be made therein
without departing from the scope of the invention.
* * * * *